02/04/2002 | SG

HRES 339 IH

107th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. RES. 339

Urging the Government of Ukraine to ensure a democratic, transparent, and
fair election process leading up to the March 31,
2002, parliamentary elections.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 29, 2002

Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Mr. HOEFFEL, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey)
submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on International Relations



RESOLUTION

Urging the Government of Ukraine to ensure a democratic, transparent, and
fair election process leading up to the March 31,
2002, parliamentary elections.

Whereas Ukraine stands at a critical point in its development to a fully
democratic society, and the parliamentary elections on
March 31, 2002, its third parliamentary elections since becoming independent
more than 10 years ago, will play a significant
role in demonstrating whether Ukraine continues to proceed on the path to
democracy or experiences further setbacks in its
democratic development;

Whereas the Government of Ukraine can demonstrate its commitment to
democracy by conducting a genuinely free and fair
parliamentary election process, in which all candidates have access to news
outlets in the print, radio, television, and Internet
media, and nationally televised debates are held, thus enabling the various
political parties and election blocs to compete on a
level playing field and the voters to acquire objective information about
the candidates;

Whereas a flawed election process, which contravenes commitments of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) on democracy and the conduct of elections, could potentially
slow Ukraine's efforts to integrate into western
institutions;

Whereas in recent years, government corruption and harassment of the media
have raised concerns about the commitment of
the Government of Ukraine to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law,
while calling into question the ability of that
government to conduct free and fair elections;

Whereas Ukraine, since its independence in 1991, has been one of the largest
recipients of United States foreign assistance;

Whereas $154,000,000 in technical assistance to Ukraine was provided under
Public Law 107-115 (the Kenneth M. Ludden
Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations
Act, Fiscal Year 2002), a $16,000,000
reduction in funding from the previous fiscal year due to concerns about
continuing setbacks to needed reform and the
unresolved deaths of prominent dissidents and journalists;

Whereas Public Law 107-115 requires a report by the Department of State on
the progress by the Government of Ukraine in
investigating and bringing to justice individuals responsible for the
murders of Ukrainian journalists;

Whereas the disappearance and murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze on
September 16, 2000, remains unresolved;

Whereas the presidential election of 1999, according to the final report of
the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR) of OSCE on that election, was marred by violations of
Ukrainian election law and failed to meet a significant
number of commitments on democracy and the conduct of elections included in
the OSCE 1990 Copenhagen Document;

Whereas during the 1999 presidential election campaign, a heavy proincumbent
bias was prevalent among the state-owned
media outlets, members of the media viewed as not in support of the
president were subject to harassment by government
authorities, and proincumbent campaigning by state administration and public
officials was widespread and systematic;

Whereas the Law on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine, signed by
President Leonid Kuchma on October 30, 2001,
was cited in a report of the ODIHR dated November 26, 2001, as making
improvements in Ukraine's electoral code and
providing safeguards to meet Ukraine's commitments on democratic elections,
although the Law on Elections remains flawed in
a number of important respects, notably by not including a role for domestic
nongovernmental organizations to monitor
elections;

Whereas according to international media experts, the Law on Elections
defines the conduct of an election campaign in an
ambiguous manner and could lead to arbitrary sanctions against media
operating in Ukraine;

Whereas the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) on December 13, 2001,
rejected a draft Law on Political Advertising
and Agitation, which would have limited free speech in the campaign period
by giving too many discretionary powers to
government bodies, and posed a serious threat to the independent media;

Whereas the Department of State has dedicated $4,700,000 in support of
monitoring and assistance programs for the 2002
parliamentary elections;

Whereas the process for the 2002 parliamentary elections has reportedly been
affected by apparent violations during the period
prior to the official start of the election campaign on January 1, 2002;

Whereas monthly reports for November and December of 2001 released by the
Committee on Voters of Ukraine (CVU), an
indigenous, nonpartisan, nongovernment organization that was established in
1994 to monitor the conduct of national election
campaigns and balloting in Ukraine, cited five major types of violations of
political rights and freedoms during the precampaign
phase of the parliamentary elections, including--

(1) use of government position to support particular political groups;

(2) government pressure on the opposition and on the independent media;

(3) free goods and services given in order to sway voters;

(4) coercion to join political parties and pressure to contribute to
election campaigns; and

(5) distribution of anonymous and compromising information about political
opponents:

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) acknowledges the strong relationship between the United States
and Ukraine since Ukraine's independence
more than 10 years ago, while understanding that Ukraine can only
become a full partner in western institutions
when it fully embraces democratic principles;

(2) expresses its support for the efforts of the Ukrainian people
to promote democracy, the rule of law, and
respect for human rights in Ukraine;

(3) urges the Government of Ukraine to enforce impartially the new
election law, including provisions calling for--

(A) the transparency of election procedures;

(B) access for international election observers;

(C) multiparty representation on election commissions;

(D) equal access to the media for all election participants;

(E) an appeals process for electoral commissions and within
the court system; and

(F) administrative penalties for election violations;

(4) urges the Government of Ukraine to meet its commitments on
democratic elections, as delineated in the 1990
Copenhagen Document of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with respect to the
campaign period and election day, and to address issues identified
by the Office of Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR) of OSCE in its final report on the 1999
presidential election, such as state interference in
the campaign and pressure on the media; and

(5) calls upon the Government of Ukraine to allow election
monitors from the ODIHR, other participating states
of OSCE, and private institutions and organizations, both foreign
and domestic, full access to all aspects of the
parliamentary election process, including--

(A) access to political events attended by the public during
the campaign period;

(B) access to voting and counting procedures at polling
stations and electoral commission meetings on
election day, including procedures to release election
results on a precinct by precinct basis as they become
available; and

(C) access to postelection tabulation of results and
processing of election challenges and complaints.

END